Whirlpool Corporation (WHR) Investors on a Whirlwind

All of these major appliance makers have a solid dividend yield. Whirlpool offers investors a 2% dividend yield, while GE offers 3.2%, and Siemens the highest at 3.7%. The exciting part about Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) is its cheap valuation. The stock trades at only 10.2 times forward earnings and 0.54 times sales, compared to GE’s forward P/E of 12.4 and P/S of 1.67, and Siemens’ forward P/E of 11 and P/S of 0.91.

The hedge fund trade

At the end of 2012, GE had the most hedge fund interest of the three stocks listed, with 60 hedge funds long the stock. The stock’s largest hedge fund owner by market value was billionaire Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management with a $636 million position that made up 1.8% of its 13F portfolio (see Fisher’s dividend stocks).

There were a total of 30 hedge funds long Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR), a 20% increase from the previous quarter. Edgar Wachenheim’s Greenhaven Associates had the most valuable position in the stock, worth close to $216 million billion and comprising 6.6% of its total 13F portfolio (check out Greenhaven’s top picks).

Meanwhile, Siemens had the lowest interest, with only 12 hedgies long the stock, but it was a 33% increase from the previous quarter. Billionaire Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies had the largest position, which was $18.7 million and made up only 0.1% of its 13F portfolio (check out Simons’ high yielding picks).

Don’t be fooled

Although GE and Siemens appear to be heavily diversified in relation to their product portfolios, Whirlpool appears to be positioned nicely following the real estate bubble burst, and based on analysts’ estimates has plenty of room to grow. This will be thanks in part to its dominant market share position in all the major appliance markets.

The article Whirlpool Investors on a Whirlwind originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Marshall Hargrave.

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